What can an ERP service provide for an e-commerce store?
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CrashOverride93 · 2023-12-11 11:00

Hello!

I'm just starting my first online e-commerce with ThirtyBees
(Prestashop fork).

By now I will manage all the orders from the backoffice. I mean, if I
see a new order, I just need to go to the delivery agency website,
create register the order, and that's it.

But, I saw that some users are using ERP solution to manage orders in
an automated and more convenient way.

I found an opensource solution called ERPnext, but I saw that it has
no PS/TB integration yet (discussion thread on Github opened for
years).

Taking into consideration how I'm currently managing my online shop
right now, how could an ERP like ERPnext help me? What are the
advantages of an ERP solution actually?

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jimmygle · 2023-12-11 11:15

I’ve built custom ERP’s and done some ecommerce Frontend integrations
with various ERP’s. A lot of ecommerce solutions will have some level
of ERP functionality so the lines get blurred. In my experience ERP’s
can be really good at plumbing different systems together to share
data, and for handling more complex supply chain logistics.

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tankerkiller125real · 2023-12-11 13:52

I work for an ERP Value Added Reseller (VAR)/Integration Service
Vendor (ISV). I can't comment much on ERPNext (I've head of it, played
with it, but I've never actually used it).

In general though ERP software is accounting software, it handles all
of the financial sides of the business (Debt, Income, Purchases, etc.)
and it also integrates the accounting side with the business side via
its ability to track inventory, employee time sheets, etc. and often
time can turn this data into Business Intelligence (BI) data (AKA
Graphs) that can help make decisions in regards to expanding a
specific product line, discontinuing products, etc.

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reddrid · 2023-12-11 15:10

I'm using ERPNEXT and integrated it directly to marketplaces and
e-commerce (Woo). Your question is quite generic, but a few major
points:
- single source of truth for all distribution channels, CRM,
accounting etc.,
- complex warehouse management - you always know where given item is
even if it is in transition between different locations etc.,
- headless e-commerce - you treat your e-commerce basically like a
front end and can replace it with a different solution quite easily in
the future,
- ERP covers not only sales, but HR, assets management, marketing.

I guess that your Ps/bs offers basic ERP features like stock
management so maybe it is not necessary for you yet, but it is hard to
scale without it.